An engine support structure for a motorcycle is achieved by rigidly fixing a mounted portion of the engine to an engine mounting portion of a vehicle body frame, or is achieved as a so-called rubber mount structure by elastically supporting the engine with a damper member. In the structure with the damper member, right and left engine mounting portions of the vehicle body frame are rigidly connected by a through bolt widthwise penetrating the engine and the engine is mounted to the through bolt with the damper member disposed therebetween. Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2014-69643 and Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. JP 06-127450 exemplify conventional support structures.
In the engine support structures mentioned above, the elastic support structure with the through bolt and the damper member inhibits engine vibration from being transmitted to the vehicle body frame. In a case where a first one of the right and left engine mounting portions of the vehicle body frame is displaced by an external load, the displacement is likely to cause displacement of a second one of the engine mounting portions via the through bolt, and the engine itself thus hardly serves as a rigid member of the vehicle body frame.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an engine support structure for a saddled vehicle, which inhibits transmission of engine vibration to handlebars and the like via a vehicle body frame and utilizes the engine itself as a rigid member of the vehicle body frame.